


Removed From Certainty

by venndaai



Category: Robot Series - Isaac Asimov
Genre: Fix-It, M/M, Mutual Pining, Post-Canon, Robot Feels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2019-01-29 21:01:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12639099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/venndaai/pseuds/venndaai
Summary: Five years after Elijah Baley's trip to Aurora, Daneel is summoned to Baleyworld to protect Baley from a mysterious threat. During the course of his investigation, he finds he must make a difficult choice.





	Removed From Certainty

**Author's Note:**

> "If I had grasped a larger part and better understood the consequences of his inability to decide on action, I might have - "  
> He hesitated.  
> "Ceased functioning? Been inactivated?"  
> -Robots and Empire

It was a warm, pleasant night when Gladia’s household recieved an unexpected vidcall. Normally, Daneel or Giskard would have recieved the call, whoever was closer to the panel, but Gladia happened to be standing just by it, and automatically picked up the reciever, moving to gracefully seat herself on the couch. Daneel kept part of his attention on her as she listened, and part on his current task, which was the weekly bookkeeping for Gladia’s fashion business.

Gladia said, with slight puzzlement in her voice, “It's for you, Daneel.”

 Daneel moved forward. He could not think of any possible reason for this, and supposed he had heard wrong, though that was nearly impossible. “For me, Lady Gladia?”

 “Yes, Daneel,” she said, and now her tone was a bit waspish; she did not like having to repeat herself. “An interplanetary call, and this man is asking for you.”

 Daneel sat on the couch beside her. “I am here,” he said, to the black screen.

 There was a pause, then a rough male voice said, “Just the robot. Alone.”

 Gladia turned slightly towards Daneel, eyebrows rising. “Very well,” she said, amused. “We shall give you some privacy. Giskard? Would you bring me some tea in the garden?”

 Daneel heard Giskard reply, “Yes, Lady Gladia.” He listened to two sets of receding footsteps.

 There was a crackling sigh over the receiver, and then the caller switched his screen on. The view was low quality, and lagged by several seconds, the information traveling light years to reach him. Daneel took in a rugged, chiseled face that he recognized quite well from recent news strips. The last time Daneel had seen Bentley Baley in person, the current de facto leader of Earth's settlement effort had been thirteen years old. Now his jaw was covered by a thick beard, and his eyes were narrowed with suspicion.

 “Hello, sir,” Daneel said.

 Bentley Baley glared at him, and then stated without warning, “Someone is trying to kill my father.”

 It had been several years since Daneel had experienced unpleasant positronic imbalance. What a strange sensation, as though his circuits were clogged with some viscous substance- “Is Partner Elijah unharmed?” he rasped. The seconds ticked by and then-

 “He was shot in the leg with a disruptor at close range,” Bentley continued in that same abrupt, brusque tone. “We don't know how long he'll need walking aids. Possibly for the rest of his life. Which might not be long, if this slime isn't caught.”

 Daneel found his own legs were shaking, and he had to sit down. “Might I speak with him?” he asked. He did not recognize his own voice. It had been quite some time, also, since he had made such a direct request of a human being, purely for his own benefit. He could not pretend he had any higher motive than an urgent, desperate need to hear Elijah's voice, listen to him say, “I'm fine, Daneel.”

 “He's not awake right now,” Bentley said. His eyes flicked away from Daneel's, then slowly, reluctantly back. “He was asking for you. Well. Asking me to ask you if you'd be kind enough to come.” There was a bitter quality to his vice which Daneel was able to identify as sarcasm. “Normally the Council would never allow a robot on planet, but I have to admit-” he sighed again- “I'd feel better if my father had someone like you guarding his back. Until we catch the would be assassin. And you can pass as a human, so you won’t cause panic.”

 Daneel rested his hands flat on his knees, trying to stop their trembling. “I must ask Lady Gladia for her permission,” he said. “But I believe she will allow it.”

 “I'm sure,” Bentley said, bitter again. “She's so fond of my father, isn't she.”

 Daneel suspected Bentley's tone had something to do with the (mostly correct) rumors that surrounded Elijah Baley and Gladia Solaria's brief acquaintance. He could guess at Bentley's emotions, and why he might feel them, though he could not really understand it on a personal level.

 “All right,” the settler said, “well, that's it. If you can come, please come quickly. Send your transit information to my office before you leave and we'll pick you up at the spaceport. Nobody wants you wandering around on your own.”

 “Thank you,” Daneel said.

 Bentley scoffed, and ended the call.

 Gladia came back into the room. “What was that about?” she asked.

 Daneel did not look at Giskard, and observing his friend's rigid metal face would not have given him any information in any case. But he could sense Giskard moving to stand behind him; a subtle gesture of support which Daneel found reassuring. From what he knew of humans, he guessed they would find Giskard's effortless reading of emotions unsettling, might even view it as an invasion of their privacy. Daneel had no privacy to be invaded, and it was extremely comforting to have a partner who would always know the instant that anything went wrong, and who would always understand without Daneel needing to struggle through an explanation.

 Daneel explained the situation to Gladia, trying to downplay the danger to Elijah Baley's life, knowing it would upset her. She was clearly upset despite his efforts. “Of course you must go,” she said. “Arrange it at once. Use whatever resources you need. Should you be going alone?” Something occurred to her, and she said, hopefully, “Maybe if Elijah is in danger, it would be best if he left Baleyworld for a while and came here, where he'd be safe. Can you ask him about that?”

 “I will ask him,” Daneel said. “However, I think it is doubtful that he will choose such a course of action.”

 Her face fell. “You're probably right,” she said.

 Daneel went upstairs, to gather together items he would need for a journey of some length. Giskard followed him, after a pause to ascertain that Gladia did not need anything at that moment. The two robots stood next to each other in the hallway for a moment, speaking so quietly that no human could hear them.

“Madam Gladia,” Giskard said, in the laconic shorthand the two of them had been developing in the last two decades. “Still jealous.”

“And I still do not understand,” Daneel murmured. “I flatter myself that he and I are friends, but surely my relationship with him cannot compare to the one between the two of them. They have been intimate in ways no human can be with me.”

“Hmm,” Giskard said. “Not sure.” He paused. “Feel better if I were going with you,” he said.

“I as well,” Daneel said, moving himself into the shorter form. “Safer with you. But- rely too much. Perhaps better.”

Giskard did not need to nod. That was a human affectation. “Perhaps,” he said simply.

  


The trip to Baleyworld was long. The first leg was taken from Aurora to Earth, on a luxurious Auroran cruise ship. The other passengers did not recognize Daneel as a robot. He had not made any attempt to hide his identity, but he had purchased a ticket and a small cabin. Most Aurorans did not know him by face, and he prided himself that his mannerisms had grown more naturalistic in the thirty-three years since he had been made. Daneel felt the usual slight unease at deceiving humans even in such a small way. But he did not correct anyone. He did not behave in any way that would make his true nature obvious.

For the second part of the journey he traveled aboard a larger Earther vessel bringing materials and settlers from Earth to Baleyworld. The Earthers and Settlers would never even dream that he might not be human, but they did immediately identify him as a Spacer, and accorded him a wide berth as a result. He was treated with mixed disgust and confusion by the staff. This did not bother him, of course. During meal times he sat quietly by himself and observed the humans around him. The rest of the time he stayed in his cabin and read. Though sometimes he planned on reading, and instead found himself lost in thoughts of Elijah Baley, and of what he might find when he reached Baleyworld. He wondered how Elijah might have changed in the five years since they had last spoken.

Two weeks after Bentley's call, Daneel arrived at the Baleyworld spaceport. He was met by two humans, neither of which were Bentley Baley, both of whom were carrying sidearms which would be nearly useless against Daneel but which seemed to give them a feeling of reassurance.

They escorted him through a long, cold tube with heavy doors at either end, and into a significantly warmer chamber where Bentley Baley stood with an unfamiliar woman in a uniform, a gun holstered at her waist.

“You are not to inform anyone that you are a robot,” she said. “You are not to reveal that you are a robot unless absolutely necessary to protect the Founder’s life.”

“I must act to prevent harm to any human,” Daneel said.

She just looked at him for a long moment, and then said, flatly, “Well, try to restrain yourself. For the Founder’s sake.”

Daneel found he did not know what to say to that.

  
  


They gave him his own rooms. Daneel was- pleased, by that. On Earth he had shared quarters with Baley, which had been very pleasant, and on Solaria, too. But still, he found he enjoyed the thought of having a space all to his own. It was not a very robotic thought, and that was disturbing. But, he reminded himself, he did not have time to be disturbed. He had to find Baley, and find out everything he could about the threat.

There was a knock at the door. Daneel was glad he had noted the location of the wall patch that would slide the door aside. He pressed it. Baley paused on the threshold a moment before entering. Daneel remembered Gladia, going into the garden with her eyebrows raised. Amused at the idea of a robot requiring privacy.

“Daneel!” Baley exclaimed. He was resting his weight on a cane. He looked tired, and older than the last time Daneel had seen him. But the expression on his face was one Daneel had come to understand as joy. To know that he was its cause was intensely pleasing.

“Partner Elijah,” Daneel said. He was once again experiencing that strange feeling of lightness and clarity that came over him every time he was in Baley's presence. Every time he worried he might not feel it again, but so far it had not abandoned him. He rushed forward to take Baley's arm.

Baley put up a hand. “No, Daneel, it's fine. I prefer to walk on my own, thank you.” He sighed. “I was already feeling old and useless before this happened.” But he was smiling. “Jehoshaphat,” he said. “It's good to see you.” He extended his free hand. Daneel took it and held it tight enough to be sincere but not so tight he might hurt Baley. It seemed oddly inadequate; their last few reunions had involved embraces, and Daneel liked that physical closeness.

“I was told you asked for me,” Daneel said.

“Yes,” Baley said. “They didn’t want to agree to it. Told me not to worry, they’d sort it all out. But I think this is one for the old team, don’t you? One last investigation.”

“I find myself in agreement with your assessment,” Daneel said.

Baley appeared to notice they were still holding hands. He pulled away, slowly and gently, and peering at Daneel’s face with an expression Daneel could identify as concern. As always he was trying to be careful of Daneel. Daneel very much wished he knew some way to permanently convince Baley that his feelings, if he even had them, could not possibly be harmed. Certainly not by such a small thing as Baley removing his hand in a too abrupt manner.

Baley took a step towards the chair, and began laboriously to sit down in it, clumsy with his crutch and clearly in mild discomfort. It took some effort for Daneel to quell the impulse to help, but he managed, with some pride. If they were still in the early days of their acquaintance he would not have been able to stop himself, not have been able to recognize that Baley’s need for independence was stronger than his need for comfort. Daneel was pleased whenever he noticed such ways that his increased knowledge and personal growth allowed him to better follow the Three Laws. Still. It was difficult to watch Baley struggle, and Daneel was relieved when he had finished settling down.

“Daneel, Daneel,” Baley said again, and he sounded as though he was savoring Daneel’s name. “It’s very, very good to see you. I’m sorry I haven’t been a good correspondent these last few years.”

“I have not written frequently either,” Daneel pointed out. “I have found that the knowledge that someone will read any letters and perhaps censor or block them removes some of the appeal.”

“That it does,” Baley agreed.

He looked at Daneel quietly then, and Daneel looked back, cataloguing every change to Baley’s features, so that when they inevitably parted once more, he would have Baley’s image in his memory banks to refer to when he wished.

After twenty seconds, Baley sighed, and said, “We’d better get to work.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea when I'll continue this, but probably not any time soon, unfortunately. I am just feeling down about my fic output and wanted to post something, and I think this is a decent start for something.


End file.
